THIS WEEKEND
Tyler Perry once again showed why he is the King (and Madea his Queen)
of the box office as Madea Goes to Jail slaughtered
the competition this weekend. Holdovers were mixed and the only other new
release landed with a soft thud.

Taking his rightful place atop the box office charts, Tyler Perry's
Madea Goes to Jail ruled the roost
this weekend bringing in a stunning $41M, according to final
studio figures, for a per theater average of $20,192. Perry's fans have
obviously been hungering for another round of Madea and they came out in
droves to see her. Madea Goes to Jail
replaces Madea's Family Reunion as
Perry's biggest opening weekend gross. That film opened three years ago
to a $30M bow and $13,688 average. Perry's last two films have been relative
disappointments (relative only within the Perry universe) but Madea has
set him back on track. In fact, Madea Goes to
Jail this weekend alone has made more money than Perry's last
film The Family That Preys, did in
its entire run late last year, when it finished with $37.1M.

The family film Coraline came in
second this weekend, dropping a small 23% for a weekend take of $11.4M.
Its cume now stands at $53.8M for Focus Features. Continuing its impressive
run was the Liam Neeson action-thriller Taken
which fell 41% from last weekend's three-day totals to $11.3M bringing
its cume to within a hair of the century club at $95M.

Fourth place belonged to the chick lit pic He's
Just Not That Into You which fell 56% from last weekend's Valentine's
Day fueled total to $8.6M. Its cume now stands at $70.1M with the century
club still a possibility.

Fifth place belonged to multiple Oscar winner Slumdog
Millionaire which saw its gross increase by 15% from last weekend
to $8.4M. Its total after nearly four months in theaters is $98.4M and
could grow much higher now that it took home the coveted Best Picture Oscar.

Crashing and burning into sixth place was last weekend's champ Friday
the 13th which fell an astounding 80% to $7.9M. A big drop was
expected as fans of the genre rushed out on opening weekend, but this drop
gives Friday the 13th the distinction
of being one of the top 10 worst second weekend drops for a wide release
in history. Its total stands at $55.1M with a final gross somewhere in
the $65-70M range. While there are two more Friday the 13ths in this year
(much too soon for a sequel to hit) the only Friday the 13th in 2010 is
in August, the perfect time for an end of summer horror film.

The second chick lit flick on the charts landed in eighth this weekend
as Confessions of a Shopaholic took
in $6.7M of consumer dollars bringing its cume to $27.4M. A drop of 55%
from last weekend does not bode well for the Disney release. Look for a
final total in the $40-45M range.

A trio of Sony releases closes out the top 10 this weekend. In seventh
was arguably the biggest surprise hit so far this season, Paul
Blart: Mall Cop which fell only 38% from last weekend to $6.8M.
Its total now stands at a terrific $121.2M. Opening poorly in ninth place
was the high school not-a-cheerleading movie Fired
Up! The movie starring two guys who haven't been in high school
in about 10 years took in $5.5M this weekend for a per theater average
of $3,030. And rounding out the top 10 was The
International in its second weekend. The banking thriller took
in $4.5M this weekend bringing its cume to a disappointing $17M. Look for
a final total in the $25M range.

Three of the other four Best Picture nominees added theaters this weekend
and all saw their grosses rise slightly from last weekend. The
Reader grossed $2.6M this weekend, (up 20% from last weekend)
bringing its total to $23M. Milk saw
its grosses rise 22% from last weekend, grossing $1.1M this weekend for
a total of $28.1M. Frost/Nixon saw
its weekend take rise 27% from last weekend, raking in $653,580 bringing
its cume to $17.4M. The final nominee, The Curious
Case of Benjamin Button was the only Best Picture nominee to
lose theaters this weekend and saw its gross fall 24% from last weekend
to $1.2M, bringing its total to $124.2M

The top ten films grossed $112.1M which was up 32% from last year when
Vantage Point debuted atop the charts
with $22.8M; and was up 17% from 2007 when Ghost
Rider remained at number one with $20.1M.

Compared to projections, Madea Goes to Jail
flew by Gitesh's prediction of $25M while Fired
Up! came in just below his projection of $8M.

For reviews of Friday the 13th and
Delhi 6 plus NEW DVD reviews of
Friday the 13th Parts I, II, and III,
visit The Chief Report.

Be sure to check back on Thursday for a complete summary, including
projections, for next weekend when Jonas Brothers:
The 3D Concert Experience and Street
Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li both open.

This column is updated three times each week:
Thursday
(upcoming weekend's summary), Sunday
(post-weekend analysis with estimates), and Monday
night (actuals). Opinions expressed in this column are those solely of
the author.